


if i could see the future

by hovercraft



Category: Fate/Grand Order, Fate/stay night & Related Fandoms
Genre: F/M, Female Fujimaru Ritsuka - Freeform, Fluff and Angst, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-31
Updated: 2019-08-31
Packaged: 2020-10-04 07:34:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20467358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hovercraft/pseuds/hovercraft
Summary: Da Vinci was waiting for the day she’d have to talk to Ritsuka about her fascination, about how unfortunate it could be to love a servant and to always be careful—but what had Ritsuka done that was not selfishly in the name of saving the Earth? Could they not have one thing to themselves, one happy thing to keep them going?Request for anon on tumblr.





	if i could see the future

It is no secret that Edmond Dantes loves his master. It is, perhaps, the worst kept secret to himself.

People talk in Chaldea about how the King of the Cavern put their master through so much suffering and wonder if it’s all right to let them be close, but one servant spoke above the rest: that Master was indeed protected by the Count more fiercely than any guard dog, that it was silly to believe she was in the wrong hands just because of the incident with the tower. ‘Wait and hope’ indeed, the Count couldn’t run fast enough to answer her summons the moment she laid down quartz as a catalyst. People often joked that he must have pushed some more desirable servant out of the way in the Throne of Heroes for the chance to be reunited with his beloved master.

To the Count, however, he never let himself think he was too close to Ritsuka. He was a dangerous person, an avenger, someone you never wanted to be too close to as it was. All that existed in his heart was the desire for revenge against humanity, the part of himself that had been sated with what he had in life long gone. He found himself tripping over the words ‘Haydee’ in regards to his master. It was absurd, there was no reason to consider their master a replacement for her.

Servants weren’t even supposed to be close to their master, and yet the mage of Chaldea treated him like she would a close friend. He was not a tool to her, he was an ally and a valued one at that. Why was he so selfishly wanting more?

Other servants felt entitled to their master’s affection, spoiled by how kind they were. Fergus had given their master a _room key_ for Valentine’s day, and Edmond couldn’t help but give him a death stare from across the room. He made sure that promise was never followed up on, but he insisted it wasn’t from jealousy. It was from common decency, something the likes of that man obviously didn’t have, having no respect for a master/servant relationship. They were supposed to be loyal and unfailingly serious about that relationship.

Try as he might, though, Edmond Dantes did not uphold his own creed. He supposed that made him a hypocrite, but there were worse things to be.

Their master got a lot of rest between rayshifts and the comical little events that would pepper Chaldea’s halls, and he often found himself waking her up with coffee so she wouldn’t sleep past noon again. One time, his dark aura had crept into her bedroom as she lay peacefully sleeping and rudely tugged the blankets off of her. When he’d flipped on the lights and pointed to the clock.

“Already…?” She asked, rubbing her eyes.

“Already.”

He tried not to focus on her pajamas of choice, he wasn’t _carnal_ like that, he was just making sure she got up on time so they could focus on work.

As they hunted for strengthening items, Dantes rarely left his master’s side. Even Cu had a snide thing to say about the Count being a loyal puppy, but he wouldn’t dare say them to his face. There was one problem though, one simple thing that kept this master and servant relationship from being as strictly professional as possible.

Ritsuka was absolutely in love with Edmond Dantes.

She would heed his desire to be called only the Count or Avenger, but outside of that, she longed to call him by name. She loved the frame of his body, how he’d hold his cloak over her in case of rain, the soft look in his eyes when she’d catch him glancing her way. Servants were supposed to be tools, but Ritsuka viewed them as people, and perhaps, in her folly, she viewed Dantes as an option. She was not the first Master to fall in love with a servant and wouldn’t be the last, but it was obvious to everyone but the pair of them.

Da Vinci was waiting for the day she’d have to talk to Ritsuka about her fascination, about how unfortunate it could be to love a servant and to always be careful—but what had Ritsuka done that was not selfishly in the name of saving the Earth? Could they not have one thing to themselves, one happy thing to keep them going?

The _Count_, though. Da Vinci questioned her taste, if only a little. She was still sour on the rude remark Dantes had made about her.

\--

The rayshift had left the two of them stranded, gone wrong after separating the two of them from Mash. Ritsuka remembered the same thing happening with Cu Alter, once. Mash was only a day’s walk away, and it wasn’t too rough on them, but they had all the supplies they needed to get there. No more drinking from the root of a tree.

“Barbaric…” To think Cu Alter had made her do such things. Still, if it was for her survival, he couldn’t fault the man.

“I think it was kind, in his own way.”

“You have mysterious definitions of kind.”

“Do you really think so?”

Ritsuka definitely thought of the Count as kind, who had put her through agonizing trials for the sake of her life and mind. Perhaps she understood the avengers and Alters in a way other people didn’t, after all, she did give Jeanne Alter and Cu Alter the kindness of a normal person. It seemed the only person Ritsuka distanced herself from was Brynhildr, with whom it was kind of a necessity, or she’d take her life.

It was a shame, because her life was so tragic that Ritsuka couldn’t help but want to get close.

When night fell, Dantes removed his cape for the Master’s makeshift blanket. She didn’t want to say that the scent of him relaxed her when it encompassed her entirely, but the sudden privacy, away from everyone and everything, felt like an opportunity. She might never get this again.

“Avenger…” She said, softly. She knew he didn’t like his name being said aloud.

“Yes, my Master? Is something troubling you?”

“Yes… something is.” She scooted closer to him to lean on his side, which he didn’t push her away from, but didn’t wrap an arm around her, either. He couldn’t let himself get too close. Hadn’t he admonished other servants for the exact same thing?

“What would that be?”

“For the rest of my life, I’ll be surrounded by servants in Chaldea.” She said, softly. “When I die, I don’t know where I’ll go. Maybe I’ll be cool enough to go to the Throne of Heroes? But you know, maybe… not. Maybe I’ll just get what everyone gets.”

“You defeated Goetia singlehandedly. People have done less to have their names etched there.”

“But it’s just what I should’ve done. Anyway, this talk is pointless. I just wanted to say I have all of my life in Chaldea, serving the cause. I won’t have the time for anything a human can usually do. I can’t fall in love or—”

“Kyrielight.” Dantes said simply.

“I don’t feel that way about her. She’s like a sister to me…” Ritsuka trailed off. “I… have someone I have feelings for already.”

“A servant?”

“Yeah…”

A pit of jealousy opened up in Dantes’ stomach. Of course those would be her only options, but who? Who had captured the legendary Master of Chaldea’s heart?

“That’s a dangerous game to play. They’ll forget you eventually, once they’re unsummoned. And even if they stay in service of Chaldea forever, they’ll outlive you and you’ll die.”

“But would it be so bad?” Ritsuka looked at the command seals on her hand. “To be happy, if just temporarily.”

“Happiness is always temporary.” Dantes reminded her, well aware of that fact himself.

“You don’t have to be so dour. I mean that happiness can come and go for the both of us—"

“Both of us?”

Ritsuka immediately put her face in her hands. She’d slipped up! “I- I mean—”

“Ritsuka, is it me?”

“…”

“Ritsuka.”

“I… I just like you a lot, Edmond.”

That name had been long since dead for him, but to hear it out of her mouth… he was reminded of the foreign princess he kept on his arm, the one that wanted to be by his side no matter how much he’d been eroded by time. He was an avenger! He wanted nothing more than to raze the Earth for the sake of his own betrayal, but now that motive was different. He wanted to destroy anything in Ritsuka’s path, for the pure sake of her never becoming like him, so hateful and full of rage.

Yet she loved him.

“That’s dangerous, Ritsuka. It’s only a temporary happiness.” Something that would be ripped from him the moment Ritsuka died. Ever the pessimist, he could only think of what happened at the end of the line.

“So you don’t feel the same way.”

Reaching into his pocket, he found a stray cigarette and lit it. “I never said that.”

As smoke plumed from his mouth, Ritsuka turned to him in shock. “You--?”

“You are a very difficult person not to love, Ritsuka. All of your servants love you. We want to see you grow up happy, even if that happiness isn’t with us. We’re not people, we’re ideals forged from a lifetime of suffering and battle. You cannot love an idea so much that—”

“Isn’t that what life’s about?”

Edmond paused.

“Loving ideas… loving the vision of the person you trust. Loving their ugly sides. All we have of one another are ideas. Even you don’t know my darkest secrets, Edmond, even if you try to clean up the dirt of my mind while I sleep.”

“…”

“I love you.”

“…”

Ritsuka pulled the cloak around her tightly. “But I’ll accept the fact that you won’t let yourself get hurt. It’s true, we might be separated one day and not have one another, but in battle I could die any day, at any time. I just… want what we have while we have it. That’s all I want as Chaldea’s last master.”

“Is that truly your wish, Ritsuka?”

“It is.”

Edmond took a long drag of his cigarette, exhaling the smoke and leaning over to kiss her. He tasted of tobacco and coffee and his lips were still warm. He was a person, not an ideal, no matter how hard he protested and how much he didn’t want time to pass and to lose her. It would be her happy ending and hers alone, as Dantes continued to exist and miss her, if their relationship lasted that long. As much as a a fire of hatred burned within him, so did coexist one of affection for Ritsuka, one that would shoulder the burden of that pain so long as it made her happy.

“You’ll be disappointing a lot of servants, picking me.” He said, finally.

“I only want one person.” Daringly, she slipped her arms around his, leaning in close to him. “I’m not thinking of them. I’m thinking of me.”

He grinned. “How unlike you, to be so selfish for a change.”

“Am I not allowed to be?”

“On the contrary, I feel that’s what everyone wants for you. To be selfish, to take what you want when you’ve done so much for all of humankind.”

\--

When they finally made it back to Mash and rayshifted back to Chaldea, the servants could sense something was different between the two. Raikou’s motherly instincts were kicking in in full throttle, questioning Dantes as to what they did when they were alone together. Da Vinci _may_ have let it slip that the two shared an intimate moment, and it set rumors ablaze through Chaldea. Dantes would have to shoulder the interrogations from protective servants with a wry smirk. It felt like a petty victory over the other servants who’d dedicated themselves to Ritsuka, to be an avenger yet still having won their heart. Jeanne d’Arc Alter was particularly venomous about it.

When they made it back to Ritsuka’s room, she flopped on the bed as he sat down on it next to her. She reached for his hand and entangled her fingers in his.

“Thanks, Avenger.”

“… Edmond is fine, now.”

Ritsuka smiled gently.

“Whatever you have to endure, it won’t be alone. Not again, not ever.”

He didn't say anything to that, didn't smile, but his fingers closed tighter around hers, ever gently.


End file.
